Indiana Housing Market Report

Within the state of Indiana the median value of a home is an estimated $111,000. The home values have increased upwards of 0.5% over the past year and it is highly predicted to rise next year by an additional 3%. The median price of rent within the state is, on average, $875. The delinquent mortgages within the state is at 4.8%, which is slightly lower than that of the national, 6.3%.

Multifamily housing continues to do very well, while the sector of single family units continue to struggle. What tends to bring reliable house buyers to the market is access to favorable credit terms, consumer confidence and job growth. With that being said, there are a number of experts that contend that the real estate market will begin to move towards a direction that is more positive this year. As an example, the National Association of Realtors forecasts that the sales of existing homes will undergo a 7.7% increase from last year as single family sales will increase (nationally) 33.5%. The median of home prices are additionally expected to slightly increase as well. With that said, the best way to sell your house fast in Indiana is to price it price it just below the median home price in your area. Finding the average sales prices of sold homes in any given subdivision paints a picture of the overall housing condition for that subdivision, compared to other similar subdivisions in the state of Indiana.

Unfortunately, the risk tolerance of housing market is low and there are uncertainties abound. The uncertainties are inclusive of the following: tumultuous world affairs, investor activities, credit access, and growth in wages and unemployment rates. Although hiring has been steadily gaining momentum, unemployment rates continue to remain high (due in part to those that have given up on their search for employment). Consumer’s access to favorable credit remains questionable as participants within the market struggle to uncover proper underwriting balance. Additionally, the Federal Reserve has ended its bond buying program.

Investor activity that pertains to single family housing has slowed as the threat of investors dispensing of their inventories into the market continues. Now, consumer confidence could possibly be negatively affected by the economic climate of Europe, the Ebola outbreak as well as the unrest within the Middle East.

The probability for a 2015 that will be better than 2014 within the housing market of single family homes depends largely on how wages compare to the local median price of housing and job growth. A key factor in the qualification of mortgages is the household’s gross take home pay monthly that is relative to housing payments. The housing payments include home owner’s insurance, real estate taxes, and the mortgage payments.

With all things being equal, the communities that show positive job growth as well as a favorable margin between housing costs and wages are more likely than others to experience a strengthened single family market. Additionally, the greater the margin, the higher the tolerance of risk there will be for potential buyers within the market. As an example, should mortgage rates become greater, the communities with a margin that is wider will be less impacted. Moreover, those communities will be more likely to contain stable real estate markets that will be relative to communities that possess smaller margins. Therefore, the tolerance of risk as well as job growth are highly important indicators to take into consideration in regards to forecasting the housing market of 2015.